Gordon U/11 Red - Round 10

The U11 Reds got their first taste of Twenty20 magic in an exciting and excellent victory on Saturday.

Player of the Match Tim Perry with his award

Match captain Finn Mclay won the toss and put St Ives Ponting into bat on a sunny day at a poor Darnley Oval. Tom Hampson opened the bowling and struck in his second over to have the St Ives team reeling at 1 for 3.

The batsmen then fought back until James Mulder was thrown the ball. He also struck in his second over hitting the pads and trapping a batsmen 'plumb' in front. Tight fielding restricted the scoring with Hampson picking up a second wicket to finish with the impressive figures of 2 for 9 from three overs. Mulder chipped in with 1 for 6 from three tight overs.

Chasing 116 to win from 20 overs, the Reds opened the batting with Hampson and the in-form Tim Perry. Hampson fell cheaply but Perry played very straight and with great power to retire 14 not out under the special laws for the day.

A couple of quick wickets fell when leading run scorer Mulder was bowled and Sam Duckworth run out. Angus Chitty played straight but was forced to retire having used up his five overs.

With the innings in danger of stalling, in came Brae Mason and Charlie Crawshaw. They quickly combined to clobber the bowling and turn the match around. Crawshaw was particularly savage whacking two 6s and two 4s on his way to 29. Mason was also on fire hitting three 4s in his innings of 18.

The U11Reds celebrate in the shade after defeating St Ives Ponting

Both players were forced to retire ' leaving the remaining batsmen to bring home the victory.

Charlie Bibb played superbly smashing two fours ' the second an elegant on-drive ' for his eight runs. Mclay, 7 not out, and Harrison Layton saw home the Reds reaching 116 with three overs to spare.

It was a great team effort by the boys who richly deserved their victory. It was a reward for hard work off the field.

It's now time for a summer hiatus. The next game is 29 January where the Reds take on their colleagues, the Gordon Greens.

Charlie Bibb crunches a pull shot to the boundary

Finally, I would like to thank all the parents for their help. Each week the mums and dads turn out to support the boys in greater numbers than the other teams. However, a special thanks goes to:

Coach Andrew Chitty

Kitman Steve Perry

Umpires Craig Hampson, Scott Mason and Matt Vandermark

Scorers John Mclay, Dean Duckworth and Phil Walsh

Motivators Martin Mulder, Bruce Crawshaw and Will Layton

And I cannot forget the all important mums and siblings who make it all so much fun.